Etymograph

English

physic

Physic comes from Latin physicus, from Ancient Greek φῠσῐκός ‘natural’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to appear, become, rise up’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-1‘to appear, become, rise up’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuHyéti2reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰúyō2reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφῠ́ω1phŭ́ō‘grow’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφύσις1phúsis‘origin, birth’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφῠσῐκός1phŭsĭkós‘natural’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEphysicus1
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500phisik1
  9. Englishtodayphysic1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English physic
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φύω

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-Wiktionary, English physic‘to appear, become, rise up’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuHyétiWiktionary, Ancient Greek φύωreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰúyōWiktionary, Ancient Greek φύωreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφῠ́ωWiktionary, English physicphŭ́ō‘grow’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφύσιςWiktionary, English physicphúsis‘origin, birth’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφῠσῐκόςWiktionary, English physicphŭsĭkós‘natural’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEphysicusWiktionary, English physic
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500phisikWiktionary, English physic
  9. EnglishtodayphysicWiktionary, English physic

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to appear, become, rise up’

power, future, present, possible, build, improve, presence, essential, bond, bush, bound, absence, contribution, entity, booth, approve, probability, absent, favorable, distribute, contributor, fiat, bun, favourable, bouquet, retribution, attribution, rebuke, impotent, bower, impossibility, aren, beamer, bosque, approbation, busk, phylogeny, boor, bist, futur, 81 more

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰuHyéti

be, been, 13 more

through Proto-Hellenic *pʰúyō

imp, 13 more

Another origin of physic

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-tísreconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφύσις‘nature’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφῠσῐκόςphŭsĭkós‘natural’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφυσικήphusikḗfeminine singular of φῠσῐκός
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEphysica‘study of nature’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400fisike‘natural science, art of healing’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fysike
  8. Englishtodayphysic

Today it means

adj Relating to or concerning existent materials; physical.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “physic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek φύω. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- / physic

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